Terms of Use, Including Privacy Statement

Notice of Revised Terms of Use: In updating its terms of use for the sixth edition, released in July 2014, the MLA made the following substantive revisions: the addition of sections on intellectual property and destructive code, of language addressing individual subscribers, and of expanded descriptions of uses permitted and not permitted.

Last updated July 2014

Your use of the online Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies (“Site”, “Literary Research Guide”), published by the Modern Language Association (“MLA”), is governed by these terms of use (“Terms of Use”), together with the Privacy Statement. The MLA reserves the right to change the Terms of Use; you may be notified of such changes through e-mail or through status messages on the Site. Please read the Terms of Use as well as any updates.

Purpose of This Site

The Site provides descriptions of, evaluations of, and links to resources for research in language, literature, and cultural studies and is intended for use only by Authorized Users (defined below).

Intellectual Property

The Site contains copyrighted material owned by the MLA and the material of others from whom the MLA obtained permission for use. Except for the permitted uses described below, you are not entitled to exercise any copyright in the material on the Site.

“The Modern Language Association” and “MLA” are trademarks of the MLA (“MLA Trademarks”), and your authorized use of the Site does not imply any license to use the MLA Trademarks for any purpose.

For information about obtaining permission to reprint or license material from MLA publications, send your request by mail (The Modern Language Association of America, 26 Broadway, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10004-1789) or e-mail (permissions@mla.org).

Rights and Responsibilities

1. Definition of “Authorized User”

An individual who has a current subscription to the Literary Research Guide or is an authorized user of the services of a library that has purchased a license (e.g., an enrolled student, a faculty member, an affiliated or visiting researcher, a regular or contract staff member of the library’s institution, or an authorized walk-in library user) is an Authorized User of the Site. Authorized Users are not permitted to transfer their accounts to or share their access with anyone.

2. Permitted Uses

An Authorized User is permitted to use the Site only for personal research and academic purposes and may exercise only the following permitted uses of the Site and of the MLA’s copyrighted materials:

Log in to, search, and use the links contained on the Site

Print any portion of the Site for personal use

Display the Site or portions of it on a screen or monitor for the purpose of face-to-face classroom instruction

Display the Site or portions of it on a screen or monitor in a library for use by an institution’s librarian to provide face-to-face reference assistance

3. Uses Not Permitted

The following uses are not permitted. This list includes examples and is not exhaustive. You should assume that any use not among the permitted uses is not permitted.

Dissemination of any part of the Site to others, whether directly or by proxy, selling a copy of any material, or using a copy for any kind of commercial venture

Posting a user name and password for use by others

If an Authorized User engages in a use of the Site that is not permitted, the MLA reserves the right to bar that Authorized User’s access to the Site permanently.

Disclaimers

1. Service Interruptions and Correction of Errors or Omissions

THE MLA MAKES EVERY EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT SERVICE ON THE SITE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES, BUT IT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER LAW, THE MLA DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE AND ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION AVAILABLE THROUGH IT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE (EVEN IF THAT PURPOSE HAS BEEN DISCLOSED).

THE MLA MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, RELIABILITY, OR NONINFRINGEMENT OF ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE. THE MLA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ALL THE MATERIAL ON THE SITE IS CORRECT OR COMPLETE, AND THE MLA RESERVES THE RIGHT, WITHOUT INCURRING ANY LIABILITY UNDER ANY THEORY, TO CORRECT ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS ON THE SITE.

2. Destructive Code

ALTHOUGH THE MLA TAKES REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF VIRUSES, WORMS, “TROJAN HORSES,” OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS TO THIS SITE, THE MLA DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM IT DO NOT CONTAIN SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. IF YOU USE THE SITE OR ANY MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH IT, YOU DO SO SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Privacy Statement

Account Activation and Collection of Personal Information

The MLA provides this Site for Authorized Users of the Literary Research Guide. To use the Site, Authorized Users with individual subscriptions must activate an account. This Privacy Statement describes what personal information the MLA collects as part of setting up an account and how it is used.

To set up your account, you must submit certain personal information such as your name and e-mail address (“Personal Information”).

Use of Personal Information

The MLA may share your Personal Information with third parties contracted by the MLA to administer, maintain, or host the Site. Those third parties are bound by confidentiality agreements from disclosing your Personal Information to anyone else or using it for any purpose other than the purposes for which it was provided to them. If all or substantially all of the assets relating to the Literary Research Guide (including the Site) are sold or otherwise transferred to another entity, your Personal Information may be transferred to the acquiring entity. Finally, the MLA may also disclose Personal Information to third parties in order to comply with the law or requests by law enforcement agencies and to enforce the Site’s Terms of Use.

Use of E-mail Addresses

The MLA will use your e-mail address to contact you about the status of your account, to inform you about service interruptions, or to notify you of a change in the Terms of Use. The MLA will not send other notices to your e-mail address unless you opt to receive them when you first set up your account or unless you later change your account settings to opt to receive them.

Cookies

The password system on the Site uses cookies. A cookie is a small file that the Site’s server places on your computer’s hard drive when you first set up your account (including user name and password) for the Site. This cookie does not contain any Personal Information, but it allows the server to identify you as having successfully logged in so that you do not have to reenter your password each time you access the Site.

The Site also uses cookies to help you navigate your history using the “recently visited” feature. This history is not stored in association with a personally identifiable individual account.

You can set your browser to warn you before you accept a cookie. You can also set your browser to refuse all cookies, but if you do, you will not be able to access the Site.

Site Administration

The server for the Site maintains a standard log file of visitors to the site that automatically records your IP address or the IP address of the service you use to connect to the Internet. No Personal Information is attached to this address. The MLA and the third parties described under “Use of Personal Information” may use this IP address to diagnose problems with the server, to administer the Site, and to conduct traffic audits, but they will use it for no other purpose.

Children under Thirteen Years Old

This Site is not directed to children under thirteen years old, and the MLA does not knowingly collect Personal Information from them. If you are under thirteen years old, do not provide any Personal Information. Instead, ask a parent or guardian to contact the MLA at the e-mail address under “Questions or Comments.”

General Terms

These Terms of Use, including the Privacy Statement, are the complete agreement between the MLA and Authorized Users regarding use of the Site.

Questions or Comments

If you have questions or comments about these Terms of Use, including the Privacy Statement, please direct them to the MLA’s director of administration and finance (operations@mla.org).